JPS6224329B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a curved feeder that transports parts such as bolts along a vibrating, substantially arc-shaped transport path.

2. Description of the Related Art There has conventionally been a feeder (component supply device) that transfers parts (objects to be transferred) such as bolts having a head and a shaft portion with a smaller diameter than the head on a vibrating transfer path. However, since conventional feeders move objects in a straight line (hereinafter referred to as "straight feeders"), it may be difficult to arrange the straight feeders due to the installation space in the factory, or parts may not be placed in the desired location. There were times when I couldn't send it. In addition, there is a conventional multi-bowl feeder in which bowl-shaped bowls for storing parts are stacked in multiple layers and each bowl is vibrated to send out the parts. In some cases, multiple conventional linear feeders are required, making it more difficult to feed the parts to a given location. Furthermore, since conventional linear feeders are large and take up a lot of space, there is also the disadvantage that it is difficult to secure space for assembling the linear feeders, especially in the case of multiple feeders.

The present invention was made in view of these circumstances, and by sending parts through a substantially arc-shaped transfer path,
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a curved feeder that can easily send parts to a desired position while avoiding obstacles in a factory, and that can be made compact as a whole especially when used in combination with a multiplex feeder. do.

In order to achieve this object, the present invention provides a curved feeder in which a head and an object having a shaft portion smaller in diameter than the head are placed on a vibrating transfer path and transferred, with the transfer paths being in opposite phases to each other. It is formed by a pair of substantially arc-shaped rails that vibrate diagonally upward in the transport direction, and the shaft part of the object to be transported is suspended between each rail, and the head is supported on the upper edge of each rail to transport it. It was configured as follows. The present invention will be explained in detail below based on the illustrated embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view thereof, FIGS. FIG.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 10 is a bowl feeder, and a parts tray 14 attached to a shaft portion 12 via a leaf spring (not shown) is vibrated in the circumferential direction to feed objects such as bolts. Arrange and send. Here, the component tray 14 is supported by an elastic body so that the main vibration direction is in a diagonally upward direction toward the component transfer direction, and is vibrated by an electromagnet or the like.

20 is a curve feeder. A base 22 supports the entire feeder 20, and is fixed to the shaft portion 12. 24, 24a, 24b, 26,
26a and 26b are leaf springs, and 24 and 26 are fixed to the base 22 so as to alternately protrude in the radial direction. At the tips of the leaf springs 24 and 26, blocks 28, 28a, 28b, 30, 30a,
30b is fixed, and on the upper surface of these blocks 28, 30 there is an inverted L-shaped angle 3 that hangs downward.
2, 32a, 32b, 34, 34a, 34b are fixed. A pair of arcuate rails 36, 36a, 36b is fixed to the lower end of each angle 32, 34, and a transfer path 38 is formed by these rails 36. There are four inverted L on the outer rail 36a.
A small angle 40 having a letter shape is fixed, and a guide 42 located above between the rails 36a and 36b is fixed to this small angle 40. This guide 4
2 has the effect of restricting the bolts transferred between the rails 36a and 36b from jumping, as will be described later.

An electromagnet 44 is fixed to the block 30a, and an iron piece 46, which is attracted to the electromagnet 44, is fixed to the block 28a. Note that the leaf spring 2
As shown in FIG. 5, the bolts 4 and 26 are mounted so that their vibration directions are oriented diagonally upward in the direction of bolt transfer (counterclockwise in FIG. 1).
Therefore, when the electromagnet 44 is intermittently excited with alternating current, the rails 36a and 36b vibrate in opposite phases to each other and oriented obliquely upward in the transport direction. In other words, the rails 36a and 36b are vibrated in opposite directions, and the main direction of vibration is restricted by the plate springs 36a and 36b to a diagonal direction in which the transport direction is higher. Therefore, the transfer path 38 is alternately moved by both rails 36a and 36b.
It is sent counterclockwise in Fig. 1 toward the exit.

An arm 48 having an L-shaped cross section and extending in the direction of the exit of the transfer path 38 is fixed to the base 22, and an escape 52 is attached to a mounting plate 50 fixed to the tip of the arm 48.
is attached so as to face the exit of the transfer path 38. This escape 52 has the function of transporting bolts one by one using compressed air to a workbench (not shown) of an assembly robot via a transfer tube 54.

Bolts 5 that are now aligned and sent out from the parts tray 14
6 has a lower surface of its head 56a locked to the upper edge of each rail 36, and a shaft portion 56b having a smaller diameter than the head 56a.
It enters the transfer path 38 in a state where it hangs between the rails 36a and 36b. The bolt 56 is sent counterclockwise in FIG. 1 by the excitation of the electromagnet 44, and the bolt 56 is sent in the counterclockwise direction in FIG.
6 are sent to the workbench one by one. Also each rail 3
6a and 36b vibrate in opposite phases, so bolt 5
6 are sent while vibrating in the radial direction of the transfer path 38, and the bolts 56 can be smoothly transferred while loosening the entanglement between them.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are plan views showing the state of use of this embodiment. Figure 6 shows bowl-shaped bowl feeder 1
In addition, in FIG. 7, the curved feeder 20 is connected to the bowl feeder 10 via a straight feeder 60.

If used as shown in Figure 6, bowl feeder 1
The feeding direction of parts can be changed by the curved feeder 20 without moving the robot or using a large space. If used as shown in FIG. 7, it becomes easy to send parts while avoiding obstacles 62 in the factory, which is convenient in terms of layout in the factory.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, this curved feeder 20 has a small vertical width and is compact, so it is easy to install. In particular, it can be compactly assembled into a multiple feeder in which component trays 14 are stacked in multiple layers. It becomes possible.

In this embodiment, since each rail 36a, 36b is excited by the electromagnet 44 and the iron piece 46, the reaction of the excitation force of one rail causes the other rail to be vibrated, and the vibration is transmitted to the base 22. cancel each other out. This also has the effect of weakening the vibrations transmitted to the shaft portion 12.

In this embodiment, the transfer path 38 is formed in an arc shape, but in the present invention, the transfer path may be formed as a part of a spiral.

As described above, in the present invention, a transfer path is formed by a pair of substantially arc-shaped rails that vibrate in opposite phases to each other, and the shaft part of the transferred object is suspended between each rail, and the head is attached to the upper edge of each rail. It is configured to be supported and transported. Therefore, the object to be transferred can be transferred smoothly by changing the direction of transfer, and can be transferred to a predetermined position while avoiding obstacles in the factory without using a large space. In particular, if this curved feeder is used in a multiplex feeder, the entire system can be made compact.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a plan view of an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a front view, and Figs. 3 and 4 are the same as those in Fig. 1.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line - in FIG. 3, and FIGS. 6 and 7 are plan views showing the state of use of this embodiment. 20... Curving feeder, 36... Rail, 38... Transfer path, 56... Bolt as transferred object, 56a...
Head, 56b...shaft.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a curved feeder in which a head and an object having a shaft portion with a smaller diameter than the head are placed on a vibrating transfer path and transferred, the transfer path is vibrated with opposite phases to each other and directed obliquely upward in the transfer direction. 1. A curved feeder comprising a pair of substantially arc-shaped rails, the shaft portion of the object to be transported being suspended between the rails, and the head of the object being supported by the upper edge of each rail to transport the object.